The Nephew
by ObiWanFan30
Summary: North Country story. When Glory Dodge passes away from ALS, her nephew, Scott moves to Northern Minnesota to help her widower, Kyle through his grief, and also takes a job at the mine. Little does he know he's stirring up a hornets' nest there. Will be ra
1. Chapter 1

**I decided to go ahead and submit this story to With the exception of Scott Larson, Luke Anderson, Betsy and Emily Jenson, and Michele Howard, all the characters are the property of Niki Caro and Warner Bros, and I'm doing this for fun. Enjoy!

* * *

**

_**Chapter 1**_

Scott Larson packed his bags. He'd gotten the call that his Aunt Glory had passed away three days ago. Her funeral was in two days and he felt he should be there. _Which is more than I can say for my parents_, he thought bitterly.

Glory Larson Dodge had been the older sister of Danny Larson, Scott's father. About fifteen years ago, when Glory had started working at the mine, she and her brother had had a falling out over it, especially when Glory dated, and later married, fellow miner Kyle Dodge.

In spite of the estrangement between the two siblings, Scott had always gotten along with his aunt and uncle, and had been devastated when he'd heard about Glory's diagnosis of ALS a little over a year before. And, he had to admit his aunt had a big set of brass balls on her when she'd worked at the mine, and when she'd stood with Josey Aimes during her class action lawsuit against the mine.

Scott smiled, remembering when Glory and Kyle had come to his college graduation five months before. By then, Glory had been confined to a wheelchair and no longer able to speak on her own. Of course his parents had been there as well, and had wasted no time in belittling Glory, especially for her role in Josey's lawsuit. It had ruined what would've been a perfect graduation day.

He shook his head to clear it of the memories so he could finish packing. He was going to Minnesota to not only pay his respects to his aunt, but to also stay with Kyle and make sure he was looked after. He already had a job lined up at the mine where his aunt had worked so many years. However, when his parent had found out about his plans, they'd hit the roof, which didn't surprise him.

What had followed was a knock-down, drag-out shouting match that ended with Scott basically being disowned by his parents. But he didn't care. He had his friends, and he had Kyle, who was more of a father to him than his own father had been. And one of his friends was allowing Scott to put his things in one of his empty storage units until he was settled in Carlson.

He finally zipped his last suitcase closed and carried it out to his truck. Throwing it in the back, he tied the tarp down over his bags with the help of his friend, Chip.

"Good luck in Carlson, Scotty," he said. "Give your uncle my best." Chip had met Glory and Kyle at their graduation three months before. Chip had been pre-med and was now attending medical school. He had been well aware of Glory's illness and it gave him more motivation to become a doctor.

Scott climbed into the truck and, after waving goodbye to Chip, drove off toward Carlson, and a new life.

* * *

Kyle was sitting with Bill and Josey. Truth be told he didn't want any company right now, but he needed help getting the spare room ready for his nephew's arrival tomorrow. _Not my nephew_, he reminded himself. _Glory's nephew_. 

Scott had always been closer to them than his father, Glory's brother, had. In fact, Daniel Larson couldn't bother to attend Glory's funeral which would be in two days, and he'd basically disowned Scott for deciding to move here and help Kyle through the next few months.

"Your nephew's comin' tomorrow, right?" Josey asked.

"Yeah, he called me right before you guys got here. He's driving his truck all the way from eastern Wisconsin. He left early this afternoon, so he should be here in time for the visitation."

"I hear he's gonna be workin' at the mine," Bill said in thought. "I hope it won't be too much for him."

Kyle smiled. "He's a tough kid. If Scotty was able to put up with his parents' shit and not be fucked up, I think he can handle workin' at the mine."

Josey nodded. She'd heard about Scott from Glory. In college, he'd majored in English, and had planned to go on to grad school so he could be a teacher, but for some reason, his scholarship had been revoked. She didn't know the details, but Glory had been pissed off about it.

She got up to leave and motioned for Bill to come with her. "Call us when he gets here, and we'll see you tomorrow night at the visitation." She hugged Kyle one last time, and then she and Bill left, leaving Kyle alone with his thoughts and his grief.

He found himself picking up a photo of him and Glory with Scott. The picture was about two years old, while Scott was still in college. He'd come down to visit during spring break, and had gone with them to Tee-Gee's Bar and Grill. That was a year before Josey had come home to work in the mine. Now, Scott would be in her shoes, figuratively. _At least he'll have my support from the very beginning_, he promised himself. _I won't do what her father did_.


	2. Chapter 2

**I can see my story is getting some reviews. Thanks, it helps. Now in case anyone is wondering, in my mind's eye, I have Scott being portrayed by Hayden Christensen (aka Anakin Skywalker/Darth Vader in the Star Wars Prequels), Emily being portrayed by Natalie Portman (aka Padme in SW PT), Luke and Betsy portrayed by Mark Hamill and Carrie Fisher (the twins in the OT), Ian MacDonald by Ewan McGregor (aka Obi-Wan Kenobi in the prequels), and Michelle portrayed by Erika Christensen. Now that we have some faces with the new characters, on with the story:)**_**

* * *

Chapter 2**_

Scott decided to stop at a motel a few miles from the border into Minnesota later that night to just get the minimum amount of sleep. If he was up and checked out by eight the next morning, he'd be in Carlson and at his uncle's house by three in the afternoon, with an hour to clean up for the visitation.

He decided to call Kyle from the phone in the motel room. "I'll be checked out by eight tomorrow morning," he said. "Then I should be in Carlson by three, three-thirty at the latest."

"Take your time," Kyle told him. "We can always go separately to the visitation."

Scott nodded. "How are you holding up?" he asked softly. "I know this was expected, but still…" His voice trailed off.

"Yeah, I'm doin' okay, considering. Josey and Bill have been over a lot since her death, helpin' me make the arrangements. What about you? I know you loved Glory to bits; she was your favorite aunt and all."

"I'm okay; just pissed that Mom and Dad can't even be bothered to attend her funeral. And, they disowned me for wanting to come down to be there for you."

"It's their loss, Scotty, not yours. They're the ones who will have to live with it." Kyle sighed into the phone. "It's late and I should let you get some sleep since you're gettin' up early tomorrow."

"See you then." With that, both men hung up, one settling in the bed in his motel room for the night; the other settling in his bedroom, the one he used to share with his wife.

Scott was up early the next morning. After partaking of the complimentary continental breakfast, he checked out of the motel and was once again on the road to Carlson. He only had to stop for gas once just outside of town.

As he filled the tank, another car pulled up to the island beside his and a beautiful young woman got out. She had long wavy brown hair and brown eyes. She smiled at him as she began to fill her tank.

"Just get here?" she asked softly.

"Yeah, I'm not exactly here on a pleasure trip." He held out his hand. "Scott Larson."

The girl smiled and took his hand. "Emily Jenson. Pleased to meet you."

"You from here?"

"Yeah, my mom and I have lived here for ten years. She moved away when she was seventeen and then came back to help her mother care for her ailing father, my grandparents." Emily sighed. "She's worked at the mine for ten years, and I'm going to start there next week. I'm not too thrilled about it, but at least it's a job."

"Pearson's?" he asked.

"Yeah, feel sorry for me." She shrugged. "I know they have the policy in place, but I'm not holding out a lot of hope that the guys will let me be, even though Mom's been there for years."

Scott laughed. "Don't worry, Emily. I think you and I are in the same boat. I'm going to be starting work there in a few days myself." He recalled having a telephone interview with the plant manager, Arlen Pavich and being hired on the spot. He was to start the following Monday following Glory's funeral. It was another reason he and his parents had the falling out.

The two of them finished filling their tanks and after paying for the gas, they bade each other goodbye and went their separate ways. Scott found himself admiring the girl and hoped he would see her again.

He pulled up to the familiar white house, remembering when he'd last come here two years before. He wasn't surprised to see another car parked in front of the house. In fact, he was glad Kyle had support from his other friends.

Josey saw the truck park behind Bill's car. "Kyle!" she called. "Does your nephew drive a blue truck?"

"Yeah, that would be Scotty," he called back. Sammy looked at his mother.

"Mom, I'm gonna go see if he needs help," he told her. Josey nodded and went with her son outside to greet Glory's nephew.

"You must be Scott," she said, holding out her hand. "I'm Josey Aimes and this is my son, Sammy."

Scott shook her hand, and Sammy's. "Nice to meet you guys," he said.

Sammy looked at him. "You need any help?" he asked.

Scott went to the back of the truck and removed the tarp, handing the teen a large garment bag. "I need that for the visitation," he said.

Sammy nodded. "I'll put it in the downstairs guest room." He hurried inside while Scott and Josey grabbed the other three suitcases.

"How's he doing, really?" Scott asked her. Josey shrugged.

"It was expected; we knew that," she explained. "He seems to be holding his own, but I think you're being here will help a lot. I got the impression that she'd been on the outs with your dad."

Scott snorted. "That's being nice. My dad always resented Glory for working in the mine. Always said she was doing a man's job and she should've stayed home and had babies. He hates that I'm here too."

"So I hear you're gonna be starting at the mine on Monday," Josey said, changing the subject. "I'm a union rep; that's how I found out."

"Cool. I'm starting with another girl, Emily Jenson. She and I'll be the new kids on the block."

Josey nodded. "I know Emily's mom. She drives truck in the pit." They brought the suitcases to the guest room just as Kyle came to the living room, and Josey motioned for Sammy to go out to Bill's car. "We gotta go get ready for the visitation. I'll see you there." She left the two of them alone.

Uncle and nephew wasted no time embracing and sharing their mutual grief. Scott wiped away his tears. "I'm sorry my parents are idiots with rocks for brains," he sniffled.

Kyle chuckled through his own tears. "That's not your fault, Scotty." He turned to go upstairs. "Give me a few minutes and we'll go to the funeral home. We should get there a little early." Scott nodded and twenty minutes later, both men had changed their clothes and were riding in Kyle's car to the visitation.


End file.
